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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Assessing the intersection of tourism and sustainable development: A bibliometric analysis from the perspectives of medicine, health, therapy, and wellness

Songyu Jiang1 ,  Shu Li2*
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1 Rattanakosin International College of Creative Entrepreneurship, Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
2 Tourism School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
GHES, 4149 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.4149
Submitted: 5 July 2024 | Accepted: 9 September 2024 | Published: 24 October 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

This study employs bibliometric techniques to construct a comprehensive knowledge map encompassing medical, health, therapy, and wellness (MHTW) tourism for sustainable development. It also aims to detail collaborations between authors, institutions, and countries; analyze keywords; and identify research trends. The study is based on the Web of Science database and utilizes the Citespace software to analyze 318 relevant publications from 2014 to 2024, constructing author coauthorship networks, institutional coauthorship networks, and keyword co-occurrence networks, as well as performing prominence and cluster analyses of keywords. Findings reveal a significant growth trend since 2014 in publications on the integration of MHTW tourism and the advancement of sustainable tourism. Prominent researchers include Lin, Hsiao-Hsien, Hsu, Chin-Hsien, Ariza-Montes, Antonic, Han, and Heesup, along with several closely collaborating research teams. The United States, China, and Spain lead the research output. The National Chin-Yi University of Technology and the Australian National University are preeminently positioned in sustainable research, and new contributors such as Qingdao University are emerging and facilitating wider research efforts. Furthermore, the research agenda highlights the health concept in tourism and promotes MHTW tourism for the sustainable development of societies, economies, and the environment. Future research should emphasize international collaborations and promote knowledge sharing and resource integration to collectively address global health challenges. Moreover, scholarly attention on the application of emerging technologies in MHTW tourism can enhance service quality and sustainability to achieve a harmonious balance of economic, social, and environmental benefits.

Keywords
Sustainable tourism
Health tourism
Medical tourism
Bibliometric analysis
International collaboration
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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